If you were to stop at Angry Eddie’s for dinner, there would be couple of observations you’d make off the bat.

The first would be the crazy names for the pizza combos on the menu: not just the “Angry Eddie,” of course, but also the “Irritable 697” and – kids, avert your eyes – the “F.U. Jim Carrey.”

Eddie Miller, who co-owns the downtown Oconto restaurant with Dan Schell, disavows any prior knowledge of the menu titles before the business opened Dec. 14.

All the credit for those titles goes to Miller’s significant other, Molly Michelz, who spoke to several of Eddie’s friends to come up with ideas.

When Miller and Schell first looked at the menu, Miller told her “I can’t believe you’re putting these names on here!”

She told them not to worry, and has been proven correct.

“Customers have gotten a kick out of the names,” explained Eddie.

Many of the names tie into Miller’s service as Milwaukee County Sheriff’s deputy for 22 years. The Jim Carrey pizza – which is no diss of the famed comic actor – is his nod to his time working in the jail.

“When you work there long enough and work with the inmates, they come up with names for you,” Miller explained. “They thought I looked like Jim Carrey.”

When Miller had to escort an inmate back to his cell after a problem, the parting shot as he closed the door was … well, you get the idea.

As for Irritable 697, that refers to Miller’s badge number.

That brings up observation No. 2: Miller’s not angry at all.

In fact, the gregarious Wauwautosa native is constantly smiling and professes gratitude not just for being in business in Oconto, but being able to enjoy life.

That’s despite being injured in two high-speed crashes during his career.

“Physically, I got to a point where I couldn’t do it anymore,” he said.

About three months before he retired, his long-time friend Schell asked Miller about going into the pizza business.

“Are you kidding?” was Miller’s reply.

But the more Miller thought about it, he decided he was too young to retire and not do anything. In early August, he visited Oconto with a friend who owns several Milwaukee-area restaurants, who confirmed the basics were all in place at 1131 Main Street.

“I thought I would kick myself if I didn’t try -- I had to give it a shot,” he said. “I didn’t know what I would do for the second half of my life.”

Miller returned again with Michelz, a professional interior designer, who came up with a color scheme and appearance. Then there were numerous trips to make repairs, paint, clean and simplify the interior.

“It’s not too busy, it’s more homey,” he said. “We don’t want it to be sports bar-ish.”

Miller and Schell face a couple hurdles, though, including selling pizza in a small city that already has at least three local restaurants serving highly-regarded pizza.

They believe there’s flexibility in the market.

“I really like the other pizzas in town,” Miller said. “There’s room for different types of pizza … by no means do we want to take over the pizza business in town.”

The pizza at Angry Eddie’s is a recipe developed by Schell over the last 25 years in the restaurant business, including Ocauchee, Watertown and Eagle River.

They make and hand-roll the crust, prepare the sauce and season their own sausage. They use sliced cheese instead of shredded, meaning the pizza cooks a little differently.

“It’s as pretty close to a handmade pizza as you can get,” Miller said.

But there’s more than pizza on the menu. There’s several appetizers – including a very large pretzel – and an array of salads and sandwiches, including a gyro.

The second hurdle is getting past any less-than-positive experiences that potential customers may have had with the previous pizza restaurant in that location. The building is owned by Schell’s uncle, and Schell suggested to him that he could develop a restaurant there.

That led to Billy Bob’s opening in February 2016, but Schell left after a difference of opinion in operations arose. It closed in July.

Schell said he wanted to give the spot another try, but decided he had to start from scratch, to erase any connection from its predecessor.

“It needed to be all new,” he explained.

Schell said since he and Miller lease the space, they have control of the operation.